It goes without saying that amateurs should spend more time on the practice green, though working on your putting without having a clear focus can be detrimental. And I’m not talking about your stroke or technique — I’m talking about creating a results-orientated putting challenge by which you can gauge success and improvement. The following drill is part of the Train Your Game program we’ve developed at The National with great success as players record their results and learn their traits.

The Drill

Set up a nine-hole putting course as shown with these specific distances. Go through your full putting routine on each hole as you simulate a mini round of golf. Every hole is a par 2.

Go around twice to obtain an 18-hole score. Now, track your results. From what distances were you strong? From which ones were you weak? Determine a putting handicap and relate it to your real handicap. You can record your results manually or download the Train Your Game app for free and play even more games like this. Practising without purpose and consequences doesn’t prepare you to play golf.